Feline Idopathic Cystitis in 2 yr old male - need advice

Hello! 

I have a two and a half year old male ragdoll named Milo and he was recently diagnosed with Feline Idopathic Cystitis (FIC). He's a big boy - 15 lbs - and a huge fluffy lump. I love him to death. We had an issue about a year ago where I went away for a weekend and a friend came to look after him. Upon my return I noticed very frequent trips to the litterbox with very small urine puddles. 

Fast forward to three weeks ago. We moved to a new city in June and Milo spent June, July, and August adjusting to the new place. He seemed to be very comfortable there, lots of windows and high perches for him. We decided it was time to add a new addition to the family so we adopted a 9 week old male kitten. We took the process relatively slow for introductions, and in about a week and a half they were playing and napping together. Everything seemed to be going great. 

Then all of a sudden Milo was making those frequent trips to the litterbox again. We took him to the vet and they prescribed pain medicines and muscle relaxants as well as suggested increasing his water intake. He's a stubborn boy who doesn't like to drink much so I'm struggling in figuring out how to make this easier for him.

We've placed water bowls throughout the house, and are in the process of switching him to a wet food diet. I've ordered some Ceva Feliway plug ins to place throughout the apartment as well. I'm just worried that the stress is being caused by the addition of the kitten. The kitten is still too young to be neutered (in about 4 more weeks we'll take him in) so I'm wondering if the un-neutered kitten is stressing out my neutered Milo? It's been 3 weeks and the FIC symptoms have waxed and waned. I feel so bad for my boy and I was wondering if anyone on this site had any suggestions to reduce his stress and increase his water intake?

Thanks so much.

I'm so sorry your sweet boy is having issues.  Stress can wreak havoc on the feline bladder.  My gal is easily upset by changes and will act as though her crystals are back.

Please know I am no expert and I always recommend talking to your vet first.

Does Milo have an area of his own, just in case he needs alone time away from the kitty.  It may help once the kitten is neutered.

A trick I use with my female cat who no longer likes to drink as much as she once did is - 

Open a can of wet food, I personally only use pate food.  

Take the food out of the can and put it in a bowl, then fill that can with very hot water, swish around and then add to the food

Blend with a hand blender, it will be smooth and watery.  Measure out half and feed, then put the remainder in the fridge.  

The food in the fridge will gel up and form a smooth pudding  like consistency, when I use this portion, I add another tablespoon or so of hot water to take the chill out.

I find that my girl eats it all and enjoys the consistency much better than directly from the can, let's be honest, that cat food is for the dogs, LOL.  

She is also on a diet for urinary issues and uses the wet Royal Canin SO -  And I leave her Royal Canin Urinary SO calorie controlled crunchies out for her to pick on when she wants, about a 1/4 cup a day or less.

I also add pumpkin to it because my girl has issues with constipation.

Once in a while I'll give her Friskies Country Dinner Pate or the Fancy Feasts Beef & Liver or Hearts ( the foods that contain NO FISH OIL) because she's allergic.

I use a Proctor Silex hand blender one speed (best investment ever) cost's under 19 US dollars - I suggest you pick one up.  This saved my in so many ways.

Cats are very sensitive by their surroundings, perhaps spending time with him alone quietly while computing, reading, etc - it may give him the reassurance that this is his permanent home and all is well.

I hope this helps.

I'm sure other members will chime in with great advice and tips for you as well.  

Best to you.  Keep us posted.

Thank you so much for your input! I'll definitely give that wet food mixing a shot. 

Unfortunately we don't really have a private space for Milo away from the kitten. Although he's small he can jump like a frog and can reach most places that Milo goes. Maybe we can work on spending some alone time in a room together with the door closed while the kitten is out busying himself with typical kitten stuff. 

It's also good to know that pumpkin works as a stool softener! With the pain medicine that Milo is on, he's become rather constipated, poor guy.  The vet gave us some stool softener but we've since run out. Do you use store-bought pumpkin from a can?

Thanks again!

DarcyF said:

 
Thank you so much for your input! I'll definitely give that wet food mixing a shot. 

Unfortunately we don't really have a private space for Milo away from the kitten. Although he's small he can jump like a frog and can reach most places that Milo goes. Maybe we can work on spending some alone time in a room together with the door closed while the kitten is out busying himself with typical kitten stuff. 

It's also good to know that pumpkin works as a stool softener! With the pain medicine that Milo is on, he's become rather constipated, poor guy.  The vet gave us some stool softener but we've since run out. Do you use store-bought pumpkin from a can?

Thanks again!

Click to expand...

I always say check with the vet.  And yes I use Libby's Pumpkin 100 percent, not the pie filling that has spices and sugar.  My gal isn't as regular as she used to be, but like your Milo she's easily effected by changes in her everyday life, and this week I was in and out a lot and I think in some ways, it made her nervous.  She was given up at the age of 5 but she was only in foster for 2 weeks then Petco for 3 days before I claimed her as mine, but she was my dads cat, and we adopted her knowing my dad most likely would pass before her, so then she came up to live with us.  She's been through a lot.  Her house mate, even though they didn't get along to well, passed and I think she went through a slight depressed phase.

Cat's are so sweet and sensitive, I hate when people say they are cold animals.  They are far from it.

I hope Milo finds some comfort.  

Keep us posted.  Best of luck...

Oh yeah, if you can't get the pumpkin, the baby food squash works wonders as well.  Always make sure it's the only ingredient though.  

Best to you, Hope & my gal Chestnut

Use pumpkin from a can but not the pie filling kind. It needs to be just Pumpkin with no spices. Something like this. It does not have to be organic but be sure to check the ingredients.


Try mixing about 1 tbsp. In with his meal. My girl loves it even as a treat.



The Feliway should help and if possible some dedicated one on one play time with Milo may help as well.

I hope Milo starts to feel better. I know how hard it is to see your baby so miserable.

Another pumpkin option from weruva:

http://www.weruva.com/pumpkin-patch-up.php


I've typically seen it at local independent pet stores.

And Pumpkin Num Num which I've purchased at Whole Foods and pet stores but really, it's just canned [emoji]127875[/emoji]:

http://nummytumtum.com/

Great! Thank you! I'll give my vet a call for her input but the pumpkin sounds like a great way to keep Milo regular without forcing pills and other medicine in his mouth, which is very unpleasant for us both.

HelloMissKitty said:

Another pumpkin option from weruva:

http://www.weruva.com/pumpkin-patch-up.php


I've typically seen it at local independent pet stores.

And Pumpkin Num Num which I've purchased at Whole Foods and pet stores but really, it's just canned [emoji]127875[/emoji]:

http://nummytumtum.com/

Click to expand...

If your vet gives you the ok, a great tip I learned here on TCS is to store the Pumpkin once you've opened the can (since you only use a small amount of the can with each meal) is to fill an ice cube tray with the pumpkin and freeze it. When you want to add some to a meal, simply warm a cube in the microwave and then mix in with the meal. Super easy and it's easy to always have some on hand!

Also ask your vet about using glucosamine with your cat. I have a friend who does this with her cat per her vets suggestion. Her cat suffers from FIC. It is supposed to soothe the irritated bladder.